We support women writers living and working in the East of England * Winner of Outstanding Contribution to The Arts Award 2018; Shortlisted for the Women In Publishing New Venture Award 2015 & 2016, for Saboteur Best One-Off Event 2015 and Best Anthology 2014 *

‘MKP: Looking at your biography online, you describe
yourself as an artist and writer. These are two very different creative
disciplines. Can you talk about how your use of different disciplines and
materials weave together in your practice?

CJ: I think they inform each other, but I’m not sure they really weave
together. On the other hand, when I was bringing up my children, I didn’t have
enough time or space to go to the studio or think about my visual work, so I
thought writing would be a smaller way of making the same kind of work. I
thought I could take people into a world through my writing; one I hoped was
like my visual world. But, actually, it’s not the same; it’s another place.
They are different worlds, but they are connected. And going into writing
happened through making books for my children. I made drawings and wrote
stories, and they were published by Walker Books, five altogether. That led me
to try writing fiction for adults. So I did a part-time MA (in creative
writing) at the University of East Anglia in 2005-07. I write a lot and make
notes. I wrote most of a novel. I left it for a while, but in the past year
I’ve gone back to it and I’m working on it again. I might be able to finish it
off: I don’t know, I can’t promise. So that’s the writing. And I’m always
reading. I’m reading some Italo Calvino essays at the moment (Six Memos for the
Next Millennium) and short stories. I’ve got a pile of books by my bed. Then
I’ll go and look at work. I rushed to London the other day to see the Mary Heilmann show at the Whitechapel: very interesting work.
She started off doing English literature, then ceramics and sculpture, and then
moved into painting. I liked the way the chairs were part of the paintings. I
read interviews with her, to hear her voice. Yesterday, I was reading The
Writer on Her Work by Janet Sternburg (1980) about women talking about their
practice. In 2012, I had a Hawthornden Castle writing fellowship – four weeks
just outside Edinburgh in a castle – which was fantastic. It was a strange time
because I was doing lots of writing, but I gradually understood that I needed
the visual world, too. The writing, even though I absolutely love it and it’s
very, very important to me, wasn’t the only thing I needed to do. So I found
myself a studio in St Etheldreda’s church in Norwich. And the first fabric
piece I made was in that studio. It was for an International Women’s Day
celebration, and part of the Chelsea Flower Show Fringe, commissioned in
January (2014) by Words and Women (Norwich), which I’m part of, and installed
in the Plantation Garden [in Norwich], in May 2014.’

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Following the completion of ‘The Norfolk Story Book’ this
Summer 2016, Isabelle undertook a Writer in Residence position at Gressenhall
Farm and Workhouse to work on a potential second children’s book ‘Children of
the Workhouse’.

In this piece, Isabelle explains the inspiration behind
‘The Norfolk Story Book’, how she

came to be on site at Gressenhall and her
fascination with Workhouse history:

‘My first children’s book is inspired by objects in Norfolk Collections
Centre, situated on the same site as Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum.

The first time I set foot in Norfolk Collections Centre, just over a year
ago, I knew that I wanted to write about it. An atmospheric cabinet of
curiosities, the store is full of exciting objects; Snap Dragons, a Mammoth
tusk, and equipment used to make mustard and toffee, to name but a few. Even
though the building was open to the public, there was a sense of secrecy in the
air, almost as though you, as a visitor, had stumbled into the store by
accident - which I believe, is a huge part of what makes the store so utterly
unique and which certainly captivated my imagination.

The book is endorsed by Norfolk Museums Service and combines historical
fact with imagination and fun. Released October 2016, all details of the book,
including how to purchase your copy, are here -

I am very excited to have a book launch October 15th at Norwich Castle -
three storytelling sessions will take place at 12 noon, 1pm and 2pm. All families
are welcome!

Whilst in the completion stages of writing ‘The Norfolk Story Book’ I was
delighted to be invited to the ‘Collaborate with Gressenhall’ day. This was a
fantastic day in which Gressenhall staff and freelance creatives got together
for a meeting of minds with a view to collaborating on creative projects. The
day consisted of talks and activities, led by history professionals, which
focused on the lives of people in the Workhouse, as well as discussions with
creatives about the ways in which they could bring Workhouse history to life
through collaborative projects in community spaces.

There was even a chance to touch and examine some of the museum’s objects;
particular favourites of mine were some of the hand-made dolls. It was awe-inspiring
to think of how many people’s hands had touched those objects throughout
history and how these artefacts had played a part in people’s lives. It sparked
some very interesting questions; who made them; who played with them; how were
they made?

Naturally, I jumped at the chance to collaborate with Gressenhall and last
February, taught a day’s creative writing course on site in the Learning
Centre. The course was an introduction to creative writing which drew
inspiration from real-life stories and images in the ‘Voices from the
Workhouse’ project at Gressenhall, focussing on how to create character in the
narrative. I was thrilled to receive five stars from everyone who participated
on the course, in the evaluation.

I suppose it goes without saying that all this work and meeting interesting
people had got the creative juices flowing!

Coupled with the fact that I’d experienced such a fascinating insight to
the Workhouse through teaching the course, I was eager for my next book to be
based on the project at Gressenhall. ‘Children in the Workhouse’ will explore
what it was like for a child to be an inmate at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse
Museum, inspired by real life stories.

It is extremely important to me that the book is historically accurate. As
with ‘The Norfolk Story Book’ I intend to root the stories in historical fact
and combine this with imaginative interpretation.

Throughout the Writer in Residence position, I dedicated much of my time to
research. Thanks to the new displays at Gressenhall, I was hardly short of
resources!

The ‘Voices from the Workhouse’ project beautifully highlights, through
interactive displays, the many stories of real people who lived and worked at
Gressenhall, from how they washed to what they ate and where they slept. In
particular, I enjoyed listening to some of the audio interviews from Workhouse
inmates, as well as the film clips of actors portraying Workhouse characters,
which radiated with warmth and humanity and really brought home the fact that
these people could have been you or me.

As a nature enthusiast, I was keen to make the most of my time on site and
explore the Farm where I saw some beautiful Suffolk Punch Horses, piglets and
chickens!

In the morning, my writer’s desk was situated in the staff offices where I
could bounce some ideas at my computer screen and where I was introduced to
that most vital of research devices, the staff photocopying machine which, in
spite of its evident simplicity, I could never quite get the hang of!

In the afternoon, my writer’s desk was situated back where it all started,
at Norfolk Collections Centre which was open to the public and I had the pleasure
of chatting to visitors. It was a joy to work on the second book in the place
which inspired my first!

Having explored the collections at great length, I am now in the process of
writing. In the initial stages of working on this book, it’s clear that the
process will not be without challenges in the sense that these stories will
differ greatly from my first book. In ‘The Norfolk Story Book’ the majority of
the characters are fictional. I believe it is an uplifting book; each story
celebrates local history by shining a light on the magic, warmth and fun
associated with this region.

As ‘Children of the Workhouse’ is inspired by real-life stories, of course,
I cannot fail to acknowledge that this should be handled with sensitivity and
respect. However, this does not mean that the stories cannot be without warmth,
humour and humanity and I fully intend for each tale to have a positive message
at its heart.

As I have learned with all writing - ‘heart’ is the key!'

Isabelle has worked as an
actress in theatre, film and radio in the UK and abroad; a career in which she
has predominantly been seen in various Shakespearian guises.

She is the founder of literary
event Books Talk Back, which is hosted in London and Norwich, including at The
British Library with support from The Eccles Centre. Isabelle's creative
writing has been short-listed for the Ideastap/Writers' Centre Norwich national
fiction competition and she also writes and produces arts journalism pieces for
Future Radio.